A really Black Friday

Saturday

No. 1 St. Mary's lost 30-29 to No. 8 Del Oro on Friday, sending the Golden Eagles to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals, where they will meet Granite Bay next week.

The loss ended a five-game section playoff winning streak for the Rams, who advanced to the Division II state bowl game a year ago.

Del Oro wide receiver Spencer Butterfield caught his second touchdown of the game from quarterback Max Magleby with 1:06 remaining to cap the upset.

"There's no doubt (it's one of the program's biggest wins)," Del Oro coach Casey Taylor said. "To beat a team that leads the state in scoring and is favored to win the state final, it's a big win. But I'll tell you, we've got a big one next week."

Del Oro beat Granite Bay 27-21 in overtime earlier this season.

While Friday's win was an upset for the Golden Eagles, it wasn't a huge upset. It's no secret the section's Division II field was the toughest in the state. While St. Mary's earned the top seed and two late-season losses dropped the Golden Eagles to No. 8, they still entered as No. 2 in CalHiSports.com's Division II NorCal bowl game rankings.

"We knew we had our work cut out for us, no question," St. Mary's coach Tony Franks said. "Del Oro as an eight seed? Are you kidding? I mean they were just a couple of plays from being undefeated."

Del Oro's Bryce Pratt ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, including a 1-yard plunge with 10:29 left that gave the Golden Eagles a 24-14 lead.

Then things got interesting.

Rams quarterback Marcus McDade, who threw for 201 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, got a stagnant offense going in the fourth quarter. His quarterback keeper, aided by a perfectly timed cut inside, went for 40 yards and gave St. Mary's the ball at the Del Oro 25.

Three plays later McDade scored on an 8-yard run. A conversion pass to Harper cut the Golden Eagles' lead to 24-22 with 7:42 remaining.

On the Rams' next possession, McDade hit Alex Michaels with a 39-yard touchdown pass on a beautifully executed trick play. Harper had taken direct snaps in a wildcat formation on three of the previous four plays, and picked up 29 plays on his three carries.

On the fourth direct snap, with McDade lined up as a receiver, Harper handed off to Justin Cox, who pitched to McDade, who hit a wide-open Michaels for a 39-yard touchdown and a 29-24 Rams lead with 5:01 to play.

And that proved to be too much time.

Del Oro receiver Freddie Cargile took advantage of a missed assignment on the ensuing possession, catching a pass from Magelby that he turned into a 41-yard gain to St. Mary's 5-yard line. It set up Butterfield's touchdown three plays later.

"It was a battle," Rams receiver Louie Lechich said. "We knew it was going to be a battle, the first one in a while. It was back and forth the whole time. It was the most fun game we played all year, by far."

Lechich gave St. Mary's a 7-0 lead with a 20-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter. Cox had a touchdown catch to put the Rams up 14-0.